Over the years, Apple has attempted to reinvent a bunch of things (with varying degrees of success). And now, the good ol' keyboard appears to be up next for a thorough rethinking.
Apple's newly granted patent envisions a future keyboard that would use configurable keys taking advantage of tiny OLED screens to dynamically change individual key functions.
Reinventing the Keyboard, All Over Again
The patent illustrations indicate that the new technology has the potential to be used for both the built-in keyboards found in MacBooks and standalone keyboards such as the Magic Keyboard family of keyboards for iPad and Mac.
A keyboard with dynamic labels generated by tiny organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays featuring pixel arrays would be capable of rendering custom graphics, different characters, etc.
Patently Apple explains that Apple's United States patent for "Electronic devices having keys with coherent fiber bundles" envisions dynamically changing key labels, potentially allowing a single keyboard model to be used around the world.
In response to user input to switch keyboard language or layout, the keyboard would simply go from showing English letters to, say, Greek letters for all of the individual keys. In a way, it would be like that OLED strip above the keyboard of some Mac notebooks which Apple refers to as the Touch Bar---only applied to the entire keyboard.
OMG, Did You Just Say Touch Bar?
Such a keyboard would be able to quickly accommodate layouts optimized for gaming, productivity, programming, and so forth. As mentioned earlier, it may prove especially handy for quick keyboard language changes. You might even be able to create your own keyboard layouts complete with custom key placement and graphics.
As another example, this latest keyboard patent from Apple indicates that the keys would be able to render anything, so why not display different font styles on this keyboard? The number of possibilities seems almost too good to be true, but whether this patent ever becomes implemented in a future keyboard is an entirely different matter.
The Wonderful World of Crazy Apple Patents
Like other companies, Apple regularly patents concepts. However, many of its inventions never get to be used in shipping products. And of those that do, some, like the Touch Bar, have not proved very useful due to the lack of tactile feeling.
As an aside, Apple may be working on that as we speak; a patent filing for an improved version of the Touch Bar with Force Touch haptic feedback technology was spotted in December 2020.
While the thought of a reconfigurable keyboard is tantalizing on paper, we wouldn't get too excited about this patent because, if anything, the MacBook Pro keyboard saga coupled with the relative unpopularity of the Touch Bar shortcuts is the perfect example of how Apple's obsession with form over function can sometimes hurt its customers.